A 27-year-old Brentwood man allegedly attacked a man with a mallet Friday night and extorted the victim’s father for money—threatening to inflict more harm if he didn’t deliver a “large amount of cash,” Suffolk County police said.

While the victim’s mother tried to drive him to the hospital, his father, after receiving the phone call from the alleged suspect, withdrew cash from an ATM and delivered the money to the man’s home, police said.

An investigation by police led them to Joseph Ferraro, who was arrested in front of his home at 12:35 a.m. Saturday, police said. He was charged with two counts of first-degree burglary and second-degree grand larceny.

Police said Ferraro and the victim new each other, but didn’t elaborate on their relationship.

The alleged attack occurred at 8:45 p.m. Friday while the victim was asleep in his bedroom in a Bohemia trailer park, police said. Ferraro allegedly entered the trailer and beat the victim with a mallet, causing a head injury. Police did not say if anything was taken from the trailer.

The victim became ill as his mother was driving him to the hospital, police said. She pulled over and received assistance from a Highway Patrol officer, who called for an ambulance.

Ferraro is scheduled to be arraigned Saturday at First District Court in Central Islip.

Thoughts?

Rashed Mian has been covering local news for the Long Island Press since 2011. He graduated from Hofstra University in 2010 where he studied print journalism. Rashed, the staff's multimedia reporter, covers daily news for the web, shoots/edits feature videos and occasionally writes about civil liberties. He loves Afghan food and sports. Rashed is also a caffeine freak. Email: rmian@longislandpress.com. Twitter: rashedmian

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